


a sprinkle of a chance encounter

by commandont



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: First Meetings, M/M, Modern AU, coffee shop AU, miriel/sully is mentioned in passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 14:20:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17245745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commandont/pseuds/commandont
Summary: Sully frowned and kicked her leg into Stahl’s knee, chuckling as he spluttered and almost knocked his food off balance. “Whatever, douche. Come on, we’re opening in five. Eat up.”She didn’t have to say it twice, as he took a bite of his bagel and quickly stood to his feet again, with it still in his mouth as he headed out to the front. Another day of work that would end by noon, where he’d go home and continue writing for college and pass out at an ungodly hour. Needless to say, this was the norm.--Stahl is a college student in a small town working as a barista in a small, no-name cafe to scrape some change on the side. He, like anyone else, would not expect this job to turn out the start of something terrific, least of all with a cute new stranger in town.





	a sprinkle of a chance encounter

**Author's Note:**

> I made this as a secret santa project for one of my very close Discord friends o/ I'm sorry if this isn't exactly what you wanted, but I saw your request for both Chrom/Stahl and a fluffy fic and I had to jump on this.
> 
> Isn't it a crime that this is not only my second FE fic ever, but also only my second coffee shop AU? I'm a fake fic writer :pensive: also please ignore the fact i've not updated my ao3 since like. october. i'm a sad little depressed goblin
> 
> Anyways, I hope you had a lovely holiday, Keaton, and have a great new year! Here's to an amazing 2019!! o/

The scent of dark coffee hit him like a bag full of bricks as he stepped through the door, throwing his bag towards the coat rack on the opposing wall and pulling his light jacket off of his shoulders and back to let it lay limp against one of the hooks until his shift was done. He was unable to stifle a yawn as he covered his mouth with one hand, his other arm stretching above his head, before he bought it down again to rub a small, tired tear out of the corner of his eye. Working the early morning shift wasn’t the most ideal, but hey, he got paid and there was a discount on food, so who was he to complain?

“Mornin’, Stahl.” Sully’s voice ringing from the back room brought a small smile to his face as he walked in to join her, grabbing an apron and bringing the string over his head.

“Morning.”

She looked up from the toaster, pushing herself to stand on two feet as opposed to the one she had been resting on. “You look like hell walking. College?”

“Thesis paper. I really dragged my heels with this one, so…” Stahl laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed at himself. He wasn’t a diligent college kid, by any means, and he’d managed to pull through stuff like this before… didn’t make early morning work any easier, though.

“Ha, don’t pity ya. Breakfast?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Sully nodded and quickly moved to the fridge, crouching down and pulling the rim of her hat up slightly to glance around the stock, pulling a similar looking bagel out and throwing it with her own in the toaster. She turned back to face Stahl again as he tied the string on the back of his apron into a bow and ran a hand through his hair with a tired sigh.

 

One thing he could say about the morning shift was that it certainly was peaceful. Of course, he would have much preferred staying at home, but as long as some cash was coming in to pay for expenses, he could spare a few blissful hours rest. Another thing that could be said was that if anyone was enjoyable to be on this timeslot with, it was Sully. Her brash nature tended to rub people the wrong way, and she certainly wasn’t one to bite her tongue at a disgruntled customer (or, as she often called them under her breath after a confrontation, an “asshole”), but they seemed to get along just fine. She wouldn’t snitch if he snuck a bite of a bagel or two, and he wouldn’t tell management if she so happened to go off on one of their co-workers who couldn’t pull their weight nearly enough. Though this morning, she did seem awfully chipper, even towards him. So, after she served him his (admittedly) second breakfast of the day on a pathetic paper plate, Stahl sat himself down on the floor, sliding his back against the dishwasher while resting the plate on his knees.

“I feel like you’re either genuinely happy, or you’re very close to snapping someone’s neck in anger.”

Sully let out a laugh as she placed her own bagel on a similar looking plate, resting her palm on the edge of the counter as her fingers curled around it, her other hand reaching into her back pocket. “Guess who finally got herself a date?”

“...Y-” He could barely finish the statement as Sully had quickly pulled her phone out and unlocked it, shoving it in Stahl’s face. The screen was lit up with the face of a stern-looking woman, a little older looking than the two of them, her dark red hair almost looked like it was cut with a ruler across her jawline, dark eyes and stern expression complimented by her sharp looking glasses. He glanced up from the picture to Sully, who grinned as she pulled her phone back.

“This Sunday, I’m takin’ her out for movie and dinner - ya know, the whole works? It’s gonna be great. Her name’s Miriel, she’s gonna graduate this year from, uh, a literature major I think?”

“Proud of you. Kinda surprised as well, considering you have…  _ zero _ tact when it comes to cute girls.”

Sully frowned and kicked her leg into Stahl’s knee, chuckling as he spluttered and almost knocked his food off balance. “Whatever, douche. Come on, we’re opening in five. Eat up.”

She didn’t have to say it twice, as he took a bite of his bagel and quickly stood to his feet again, with it still in his mouth as he headed out to the front. Another day of work that would end by noon, where he’d go home and continue writing for college and pass out at an ungodly hour. Needless to say, this was the norm.

 

The streetlights outside were slowly being turned on as the sun was beginning to rise. It was almost 7 am by now, though customers wouldn’t start rolling in to where more than one seat would be filled at a time until around 8,  giving him a little bit of time to get ready. Stahl lightly jogged over to the door and released the locks, standing on his toes to reach up and tickle the bell to get it to sing a light jingle, which he laughed at to no one else in particular before he walked back behind the counter, and crouched down to check under the desk. They’d just restocked on most of the food and resources they’d need for the week, so they should have been good. Finishing off the rest of his bagel, Stahl stood to his feet with his hands on his hips, a satisfied smile on his face, just as he caught sight of a person reaching out and pushing the door open, the bell that was barely still from its last jingle giving a light twinkle once more.

 

He was average height, made of a stronger looking build than average, complete with striking blue hair and a rather confused expression on his face. Stahl estimated, in his head, that they weren’t too far apart in age, and that he probably wasn’t someone who’d been here all that long. But one thing he could say was that the stranger was really, incredibly cute - especially when he smiled as he caught Stahl standing behind the counter. He rolled up the sleeves of his varsity jacket and quickly hopped over to the counter, placing the bag that was resting on one shoulder on the floor by his feet. “Uh, one coffee, please.”

“...Oh! Ah, sure, on it.” Quickly spinning around to the coffee machine, Stahl grabbed a paper cup - one of those travel cups - and placing it under the machine as he reached to shovel a handful of beans into the machine through the side. Looking up to the back, he saw Sully organising stock, as she seemed to look up at the same time and shoot him a smirk. He was probably preparing to eat his words about her weekend date, wasn’t he? It was hard to suppress a sigh as he turned back to the machine, stealing a glance to the stranger waiting patiently at the counter. He was looking around the place, seeming to be taking in every detail, mouth hanging open slightly in an almost goofy way. He smiled to himself, before pouring the fresh brew into the cup and fixing the travel lid onto the top, quickly placing it on the counter.

“Coffee for you, we’ve got uh, sugar and stuff here-” He gestured to the end of the counter, right by where the man had taken his seat, where a small selection of tubs contained sachets of sugar, salt and other additives for both drinks and snacks they provided. “And if you need anything else, I’ll be… here.”

“Ah, thanks.” He nodded and took hold of the cup, pulling it towards himself as he took the lid off and reached for a sugar packet. Stahl didn’t pay him much mind after that, the rest of the cafe remaining quiet with the hums of the radio creating a not so silent silence that came with the morning bliss of quietness. He grabbed a cloth from the back counter and started to wipe down the service counter. Was this an excuse not to stare at the cute guy with blue hair sitting at the other end? Possibly so. But regardless, he was doing  _ something _ useful, so it wasn’t like it was a pointless task.

 

There was a sudden splutter after a few seconds of this as Stahl looked up a panic, seeing the blue-haired stranger sitting at the counter with his tongue out in disgust, the coffee he’d ordered and stirred in one hand, and the other one rubbing his chest and then grabbing at his shirt to try and cool down the coffee that had spilt onto it from his spitting out his drink in surprise.

“H-hey, you OK?” He asked this as he quickly moved from the coffee machine, grabbing a handful of napkins as he did.

“I, uh, yeah, eheh,” He looked up as Stahl made his way over, taking the napkins with his free hand and finally placing his coffee cup down onto the counter, rubbing the front of his shirt. “I just… I think I, uh, used the salt instead of the sugar? I don’t know, they just looked so similar I didn’t think to check before dumping in a few sachets… Sorry, I-”

Stahl blinked a few times, before laughing quietly and shaking his head, quickly cutting himself off by clearing his throat. Laughing at his plight probably wasn’t the most  _ polite _ reaction to the cute stranger sitting in his workplace who just spat salty coffee on himself.. “I-it’s fine, it’s not like that’s the first time it’s happened. We’ve really gotta move those apart huh?”

“Ah, yeah, probably.” Finishing most of the cleanup, though his shirt was still a little damp, he scrunched the coffee-soaked napkins into a ball within his fist, before looking around a little. “Where should I-”

“Oh, uh, I got it-” Without thinking, he reached out to take the napkin out of his hand, wrapping his hand around the fist it was balled up inside. It took a moment for him to register what he was doing before he pulled back in a panic. “Crap, sorry-”

“No, no, it’s fine, I just-” He laughed, an incredibly nervous reaction, his face a deep shade of red as he awkwardly unballed his fist and now displayed the napkin ball for Stahl to take, which he promptly did and tossed in the small trash bin under the counter. There was a general waste bin on the side of the counter near the door, which he was going to use originally, had it not been for his… stupid slip up. “...Can I, uh-”

“New coffee? Yeah, sure, on the house, don’t worry about it.” Stahl quickly took the coffee cup and dumped it in the same bin as before, before he spun on his heel and quickly walked back over to the coffee machine.

“Oh, are you really sure? I’ve got change-”   
“It’s fine!” He reinforced, glancing back up at the background at a grinning Sully, who simply gestured back at him with a ‘smooth’ being mouthed, her arms folded across her chest.

 

It was a couple of minutes of awkward silence, coffee shop radio music aside, before Stahl handed the free coffee back, sliding it a little towards his before looking at the small tubs on the end of the counter, picking out a small handful of the white packets in the second tub to the right, and placing them next to the cup.

He laughed and nodded a thank you, carefully taking the plastic top off and ripping the end of a few sugar sachets, one by one, then reaching for one of the wooden stirrers and spinning it, sticking close to the cardboard edge of the cup. His other hand rested against his cheek, elbow propped up on the counter as he took the stirrer out, and placed it on the counter, gently pushing the plastic lid back into place. He paused for a moment, before sitting up fully and holding the cup one hand, though he didn’t lift it. “So, uh, do you work here… often?” You could almost hear his voice drop off at the realisation of what he said, and he quickly covered his embarrassment back taking a drink of his coffee.

Stahl barely stifled a laugh. “Part-time, yeah, though not always on this shift. Like… 4, 5 days a week? Our manager is kinda lenient, plus I have college work, so-”

“Oh, college? What for?”

“Uh, medicine. My dad’s a chemist, so I’m kinda gonna… take up the mantle, I guess?”

“Oh, good.” He nodded a little, taking another smaller drink, now not so obviously trying to shut himself up by saying something stupid.

“...And you?”

“Hm?”   
“Well, uh, not to pry, of course, but I… haven’t seen you around before. Not that I’m, ya know, the  _ be all _ and  _ end all _ of knowledge around here, but we’re not exactly a big town. People tend to know each other.” He folded his arms and leaned back against the serving counter, looking at this strange customer began to almost nurse his cup, holding it with both hands. 

“Yeah, I’m… it’s just a visit. Passing through. Looking at… stuff.”

...A vague answer, to be sure, but he wasn’t going to push it. He looked almost contemplative, if not saddened by the question. He wasn’t going to push it any further. “Well, if you’re ever looking for good coffee and OK service, we’re almost always open. If it’s not me, it’s someone, and we’re all… well, we’re all working hard.”

“Thanks, I’ll… keep that in mind.” He nodded, and took another drink, leaving the two in silence until he’d completely finished. “Oh, it’s Chrom, by the way.”

“Chrom? Oh, uh. Stahl. Though, I suppose you… could have already known that, because of the, uh,” Stahl lightly tapped his name tag, laughing a little, and listening to this Chrom guy laugh too, almost in a symphony.

Chrom tapped the side of his cup with his finger, before spinning on his chair and standing to his feet, reaching into one pocket of his jacket with one hand, and the pocket of his jeans with another. With the latter hand, he managed to gather a bit of change, gently placing the coins on the counter. “It’s not much, since it’s all I have on me right now but… thank you. Sorry for the trouble.”

“Oh, no, it’s no trouble. Thank for, ah… thanks for stopping by.” He quickly slid the change into his open palm and turned back to put it in the cash register, taking note of the movement behind him as Chrom moved back to grab his cup for something or other, but not paying it much mind beyond that.

 

Stahl smiled and waved as Chrom turned back to give a final goodbye with a similar wave, turning to his front as he left down the street, the jingling of the bell soon stopping as the door closed behind him, the not-so-graceful blue-haired stranger finally leaving earshot, and going to do the business of the day. He closed the cash register and rested his elbows on the counter, smiling to himself for a moment before burying his head in his hands and letting out a long, disappointed groan.

The hand on his shoulder startled him to stand up to his full height again, as he looked down to see Sully, the shit-eating grin still plastered on her face.

“Well, buddy. You got him real good with that. And you say  _ I’ve  _ got no tact.”

“Knock it off.”

She chuckled again, moving her hand down from his shoulder to her hip, moving to pick up the now empty paper cup by the rim like some kind of claw machine and spin it around. “...Well, whatever you did, he seemed to be into it.”

“Huh?”

She quickly shoved the cup into his chest, which he scrambled a little to get a hold of, before turning back into the back room. “Not to speak too soon, but in my opinion, you two idiots are  _ made _ for each other. Now come on, lovebug, we’re gonna be getting more customers than that soon.”

“Y-yeah, on it.” Though not immediately, as instead of moving, he looked down at the cup, turning it slightly before his eyes widened a little at the scrawlings on the side. Rushed, sure, but legible enough, and there was no mistaking that it was a phone number that was written across the side. Something that would have been considered trash had become a treasure. His expression once exasperated had become a wide smile, and he quickly ran into the back to grab his phone out of his bag. Despite the fumblings and the terrible impulsive decisions of the awkward interaction, Stahl had gotten the attention. And he could not have been more excited to go home to his cold college dorm room that afternoon.


End file.
